Separable interlocking fastener



March 31, 1936.. H, E. 'sxPE SEPARABLE INTERLOCKING FASTENER Filed Sept.1, 1933 INVENTOR. H

* arry E. Siipe ORNEY.

Patented Mar. 31, 1936 rEosTATes 2,035,675 SEPARABLE INTERLOCKINGFASTENER- Harry E. Sipe, New York, N. Y., assignor to Hookless FastenerCompany, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 1, 1933,Serial No. 887,797 8 Claims. (Cl. 24-205) My invention relates toseparable interlocking fasteners and particularly to an improved form offastener which can be made from non-metallic materials.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved fastener which canbe easily and cheaply manufactured and which will be smooth in operationand neat in appearance.

A further object is to provide an improved fastener which can be easilymade of materials which are durable and which can be produced in anycolordesired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter morefully appear.

In the accompanying drawing'I have shown for purposesof illustration oneembodiment and some modifications thereof which my invention may assumein practice. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fastener-constructed in accordance with myinvention; 1

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. longitudinal central section;

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sections illustratingmodifications;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a small portion of thefastener toillustrate the details of construction;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of a fastener; and 0 Fig. 8 is across-section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7. According to the present invention,fastener strips are formed principallyfrom fabric materials by usingnarrow backing strips and having the interlocking members attachedthereto is by sticking material. In order to attach the fastener in anarticle, it maybe necessary to secure mounting strips to the sides ofthe backing strips opposite the projections. Inthe drawing, the mountingstrips are shown as fabric tapes 9, L0 which can be integrally jointedat the lower end if desired. In order to give the backing strips Hi therequired degree of rigidity they are dipped in a solution of pyroxylinmaterial or any suitable sizing material. At the lower end the-back- 5ing strips are turned over and folded into a series of loops to providespaced projections with correspondingly shaped spaces 42 between them.The folded tape is secured to the backing strips by sticking material,preferably by the space 0 inside the projections being filled withstiifening material such as pyroxylin or other suitable material. Thisprocess can be carried out in a mold which will hold the fabric inproper position.

Each of the projections as noted in Fig. 6, com- 51 prises a cylindricalhead portion- I 4 and a narrower neck l6. They are so shaped that whenthe projections on one side are intermeshed with the projections of theother side, the heads will-interlock behind one another andprevenpseparation. The projections will easily roll together like the 5teeth of a. gear or rack and the opening and closing can be accomplishedby means of a slider Hi. This slider has a wedge shaped portion i1 forspreading the members apart and side flanges is on at least one of theslider wings for pulling the strips together. The wedge portion servesto guide the strips into proper position during closing.

It will be clear that the resulting structure I comprises strips havingrelatively more rigid 15 heads with narrower necks and relatively widebases between the points l3 for example, in the of the interlockingheads and the surfaces between the heads are all fabric surfaces therebymaking an exceedingly smooth operating fastener and one which has apleasing appearance, and also 25 having the advantage of being smoothtothe I touch.

In Fig. 2 the mounting tapes 9 are shown secured at l9 to approximatelythe middle part of the backing strips. In Fig. l the mounting tapes havethe edges 20' extending over the full width of the backing strips.

In Fig. 5 the mounting tapes are extended downwardly which provides a.very convenient fastener for bags. In this case the upper wing 2! of theslider carries wide flanges 22 and the narrow wing 23 has no flanges.

In the modification shown in Figs. '7 and 8, the construction is thesame-except that the tape which isused to form the outer surfaces of the40 projections, is folded around cords 24. This assists in making thecylindrical head and requires less filling material.

While I have shown and described in this ap- "which my invention mayassume in practice, this embodiment is merely for the purposes ofillustration and description and it will be understood that other formsmaybe devised within the scope of my invention as setforth in theappended claims What I claim as my invention is: v

1. A- separable fastener of theclass described comprising flexiblebacking members having parallel surfaces arranged in opposed relation toeach 2 other, cooperating series'of interlocking members arranged instaggered relation along said opposed surfaces, said members having geartooth-like shapes with fiat bases disposed against said backing membersurfaces, and sticking material forming a bond between said flat basesand said surfaces of said flexible backings, said backing mem-'.

bers between said interlocking members being 2. A separable fastenercomprising cooperating series of projections arranged in uniformlyspaced relation, said projections being formed by a flexible tape foldedto provide a series of uniformly spaced heads with recesses between theheads, and relatively stiffer means for holding said tape in foldedposition.

3. A separable fastener of the class described,

.comprising strips having cooperating series of projections thereon,each formed with a head and a narrower neck, the outer surfaces of saidprojections being covered with fabric and the body portions thereofbeing composed of a filling material.

4. A separable fastener of the class described comprising a pair ofopposed fastener strips having cooperating projections and recessesadapted to interlock with each other, the coacting surfaces of saidprojections and recesses being provided with an outer covering offabric.

- 5. A separable fastener of the class described comprising cooperatingseries of fastener elements consisting of heads of plastic material, theheads of one series being spaced apart to provide recesses for receivingthe heads onthe opposite series, said plastic material being cov.--

strip of flexible ered on the interengaging faces with a strip offlexible material secured thereto, and a second material disposedagainst the bases of each series of heads to provide a surface for aslider and sticking material forming abond between said heads and theirbases and said last mentioned strips, and a slider mounted on saidseries of members for engaging and disengaging the same. V

6.- A separable fastener of the class described comprising a pair offlexible strips arranged in parallel relation, cooperating series ofinterlocking members projecting from adjacent surfaces of each striptoward the opposite strip, said'projections having heads and-relativelynarrower necks and spaced apart to form recesses of corresponding shapewhereby the projections and recesses of one series may intermesh andinterlock with the recesses and projections of the opposite series, saidprojecting heads being formed of a relatively more rigid material thansaid strips, and means for securing said projecting members to saidstrips, and mounting tapes secured to the surfaces of said stripsopposite said heads and between the side edges of said strips.

7. A separable fastener as defined in claim 2 wherein the means forholding the tapes in the desired folded position comprises rigid plasticmaterial filling the spaces between the folds.

8. A separable fastener as defined in claim .2 wherein said means forholding thetapes in folded position comprises a cord disposed in each ofthe folds, and plastic material filling the remaining portion of thespaces between the folds.

' HARRY E. SIPE.

